The present invention relates to an illuninated display panel suitable for attachment on a truck or automobile. More particularly, the invention relates to lighted display panels having replaceable display areas.
The use of lighted signs is widespread. Lighted signs of every size and concept of imagination are located on buildings and stores and line highways and roads. The ordinary billboard, so long a fixture along the highways, may soon be extinct because of federal, state and local laws and regulations which will require the removal of those now in use and prohibit any substantial number of new signs. Notwithstanding these new laws, advertising has been and will continue to be an important aspect of a free competitive system.
The objection to billboards and signs along the highways is not directed toward the content but is an aesthetic matter, since it is considered by many that the billboards spoil the view of the countryside otherwise available from the highways. There are on these same highways numerous trucks and trailers whose sides are for the most part barren. These truck panels offer the space for advertising that will no longer be available along the side of the road. This usage will provide national and regional advertisers some of the product exposure they need to compete.
However, merely attaching signs onto the sides of trucks is not a satisfactory approach, nor a satisfactory substitute for roadside billboards, since the signs must be readily and quickly removed, for unlike the roadside billboards, the signs on the truck will of necessity have to be changed so as not to interfere with the principal commercial usage of the trucks.
Another aspect of the proposed vehicular billboard usage is the area over which a particular advertisement is to be carried. It may be desirable to retain a particular sign on a designated stretch of highway or in a particular region. Thus, the sign should not only be rapidly and readily removable, but it should also be in reusable condition when removed so that it may be transferred to other display panels.
The display panels on the vehicles should also be visible. During the daylight hours there is no problem. However, at night on the open highways, there would be little benefit from the signs displayed unless there was a light source. This problem is handled on fixed location signs in present use by flood lights, spotlights or lighted signs such as those commonly called "neon signs."
It can be appreciated then that vehicle signs or display panels should be quickly and easily changed, should be lighted, and the sign or advertisement should be of relatively permanent or reusable character.
Another phenomenon which is rapidly occurring is the expanded use of leased or rented trucks, trailers, and other business vehicles. If the lease is of a substantially long duration, it may be expedient to have a sign permanently attached to the side of the vehicle giving the user's trade name, address, telephone numbers and the like. However, on short term rentals this would not be economically feasible. Similarly, in a multidivisional organization it may be desirable to change the lettering or message on a vehicle relative to the division employing it.
Notwithstanding whether a vehicle is leased or owned, any advertising, lettering or a message on the display area is often there for commercial purposes. Thus, it would be of benefit to have the sign or panel visible at night as well as during the day.
The present invention seeks to provide the means for providing each of the desirable elements for illuminated vehicle display panels set out above, e.g., rapid and easy changeability of the displayed material, which is reusable.
The prior art has at times attempted to employ display arrangements for use on vehicles which would achieve that which the present invention achieves.
An illuminated sign suitable for use on the radiators of vehicles was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,390,561 issued to Kelly. The location of the sign on the radiator would partially block the flow of air to the heat exchange tubes of the radiator, causing over-heating. Similarly, the location of the sign on the radiator may cause unnecessary over-heating of the sign and a corresponding accelerated degeneration of the components of the sign. Moreover, the sign placed in the designated location on the radiator is also subject to being grime-covered and being struck by debris and rocks from the road. Furthermore, the Kelly sign was designed to be suspended over the radiator by straps circling about portions of the radiator. The placement of the means to illuminate the sign was such that the harsh direct light from the incandescent bulbs was directly on the glass panel of the sign. This arrangement did not provide an attractive, easily read sign. Access to the interior of the sign is acquired by sliding the glass panel to the side. The glass panel can also be removed in this manner.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 1,894,857 to Dwyer et al., shows an illuminated sign for attachment to the side panels of a radiator hood. The front plate of the sign is situated in a hinged frame to facilitate access to the interior of the sign for service. The light bulbs are exposed directly to the interior of the front plate, which gives a glaring effect. Strangely, Dwyer et al. have provided two short plates on the top and bottom of the bulb which will tend to prevent diffusion of the light over the height of their sign while the glare is directed primarily to the area of the sign immediately adjacent to the bulb. Another feature found in the Dwyer et al. sign is a partition which is supposed to cause some reflection and dispersion of the light. However, should one of the two bulbs at either end of the sign burn out or otherwise not operate, this partition will effectively prevent any of the light from the lone remaining bulb from reaching the portion of the sign adjacent to the non-functioning bulb.
A particular deficiency of numerous prior art signs was the dependence placed on one or often only two light sources. This can be seen in both the Kelly and Dwyer patents as well as, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,396,245 to Boettcher and 1,827,963 to Wompey. Neither of these latter signs relates to vehicular mounted signs. However, they disclose the feature of internal illumination.